STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL OVER STRATEGIC NATURAL RESOURCES IS UNDERWAY

BANJA LUKA, MAY 21 /SRNA/ – The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik said that the issue in BiH today is not about European values, nor even about Dayton, but rather a struggle for control over strategic natural resources on the European continent.

"We have spoken about the Dayton Agreement. We have spoken about the self-proclaimed Schmidt. We have spoken about democracy as a principle, and now let us speak about the real issue at the heart of this storm: land, property, and the resources beneath the surface," Dodik said in his address to the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, which SRNA transmits in full:

"In recent years, extensive geological surveys have confirmed what we have long suspected – Republika Srpska sits on vast reserves of critical minerals, including lithium, boron, strontium, sodium, and potassium. These are no ordinary minerals. They are worth 100 billion dollars. They are strategic resources. Essential for electric vehicles, defense systems, energy storage, and advanced technologies - here, in America, in Europe, and worldwide.

Our deposits in the Lopare basin are particularly significant, as it is one of the most promising untapped lithium and boron deposits in Europe, if not the world. But unlike other locations plagued by war, instability, or local resistance, we have geological potential, social stability, and political will to develop them responsibly.

Ask yourselves: Why did Christian Schmidt appear in 2021 precisely when geological experts confirmed these deposits? Why, after years of so-called neutrality, did he launch a campaign criminalizing the Republika Srpska Property Law, stop financing from our party’s budget, and threaten our institutions? Why does he want an office in Sarajevo to manage these resources? Why such rush, such desperation, to transfer ownership of property and resources from the entity to Sarajevo?

The answer is simple: minerals mean money, minerals mean power and development. This is not about constitutional reform. This is not about European values. This is not even about Dayton. This is a struggle for control over strategic natural resources on the European continent. This is robbery. Ask yourselves how different this is from colonial rulers of the past. I do not know that there is any difference.

To be absolutely clear: Republika Srpska does not oppose cooperation. Republika Srpska does not oppose development. And certainly, we are not against sharing the benefits of these resources with our partners.

We believe, and reaffirm today, that these mineral riches should benefit all citizens, regardless of national affiliation, political party, or place of residence in Republika Srpska. But what we cannot accept is a system where ownership is taken from our institutions by decree of a foreign, unelected official — contrary to Dayton; where this fake Schmidt acts as a real estate agent for his mentors who would get everything for nothing, and where the BiH level, formed under Dayton for coordination, is instrumentalized as a tool to gain ownership in order to extract wealth from the people living on that land.

That is not development. And that is not peace. That is blatant fraud, shameless expropriation.

And no people, no democracy, would ever accept that.

The President of the Republic is constitutionally obliged to protect Republika Srpska. I do that 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Therefore, let us agree on a framework that respects the Dayton structure, the constitutional competencies of the entities as specified in Article 3.a of the BiH Constitution – Legal order and institutional competencies: a) All government functions and authorities not explicitly assigned by this constitution to the institutions of BiH belong to the entities.

We need to do this the right way. Not Schmidt's way. Because we believe in partnership, but only one that begins with respect for rights and consent."